Télescope à Action Rapide pour les Objets Transitoires

The 25 cm TAROT (Télescope à Action Rapide pour les Objets Transitoires—Rapid Action Telescope for Transient Objects) is a very fast moving optical robotic telescope on La Silla. It is able to react very quickly to a signal from a satellite indicating that a gamma-ray burst is in progress and can provide fast and accurate positions of transient events within seconds. The data from the TAROT telescope will also be useful for studying the evolution of bursts, the physics of the fireball and of the surrounding material. A twin TAROT telescope is located at the Calern observatory, in France. Both are operated by a consortium led by Michel Boër (Observatoire de Haute Provence, France).